


Don’t take chances. Play it safe.

by keepfacepalm



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Character Death, M/M, POV The Winter Soldier, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, it starts ok for Bucky and Steve but will not end that way, multiple of them in fact, you were warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-11-01 21:25:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10930338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keepfacepalm/pseuds/keepfacepalm
Summary: Rogers was not willing to see reason or compromise. He was obviously not thinking straight, completely blinded by the need to keep his soulmate away from anyone who can potentially harm him. Wilson tried to mention that maybe they can risk the trial, since Barnes was brainwashed and the chance that he would be cleared of all charges was pretty high, but Rogers was against it. He said that they were not taking chances. They were playing it safe.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have a beta and English is my second language, so, if anyone wants to help me with that it'll be great.
> 
> Comic book science, comic book psychology.

The Soldier knew what soulmates are. He was taught to use and not underestimate that kind of connection. He knew it, logically, but never felt it up until he was sent after Captain America, and Barnes, weak, broken, silent Barnes, wrestled control from him for the first time in 70 years. The Soldier wasn’t even aware Barnes still had it in him - it was decades since he felt anything from the weakling. Maybe The Soldier underestimated him? No. Most likely he just underestimated the soulbound.

The Soldier didn’t even try to take back control. What was happening was fascinating, and maybe - just maybe - strong enough to keep them away from Hydra.

The Soldier was not afraid of pain, but there were _words_ . Damn words that replaced his will, made him obey every order, burned them into his brain. Pain was enough to break Barnes, but would have never been enough to control _him_. He was born from pain. When Barnes broke and surrendered he rose from shards and took over. He, not Barnes, went through torture, conditioning, training.

He hated Hydra, he dreamt of brutally murdering them all, one by one, and he indulged sometimes. But as long as they had _the words_ , he was helpless. Against Hydra, not individuals, of course.

The Soldier didn’t kill his handlers, technicians, or doctors often, though. He was not stupid. Hydra needed to believe that they have full control over him, while he bided his time until he could surprise them.

And it looked like that time came. He read file about Rogers and his team. If Captain America felt about his soulmate as strong as Barnes did, he might be enough to protect them from Hydra, and keep away everyone who will try to get their hands on them until they can get rid of _the_ _words_.

Barnes ran. From his soulmate too. Poor idiot was _confused_ and ran from only person who looked like he would do anything for him. The Soldier didn’t have high opinion on Barnes to begin with, but now it steadily went lower.

Smithsonian was an enlightening experience. The Soldier didn’t know anything about Barnes but his name, didn’t have any of his memories. If he will ever need to pass for Barnes, he will need information. It looked like Barnes was a decent soldier, but he was not The Soldier.

Barnes ran, and ran, and ran, to The Soldier’s endless exasperation. Barnes was writing a journal, filling it with his memories. Useful for the Soldier, but exemplary stupid - what was Barnes thinking, pouring his soul onto the paper? What if it will end up in the wrong hands? The Soldier wouldn’t care, of course, but these memories could be used against Barnes. The Soldier planned to do just that.

Captain Rogers found them, of course. Barnes was sloppy, and The Soldier didn’t interfere, in fact he made sure that Barnes wasn’t even aware he existed.

There was attempt for a trial, and a man who knew _the words_. Not Hydra, curious. Barnes flipped out, Rogers flipped out. It got messy very fast.

Tony Stark impressed him. Man was unbelievably smart and brave. The Soldier remembered the look in Stark’s eyes when Barnes attacked him under the influence of _the words_. He was afraid, but it didn’t stopped him even for a second.

Black Widow was a familiar face. A girl he taught how to fight. The Soldier would have taken her down without a problem, but Barnes didn’t remember her or her style. The Soldier wondered just how many memories of their time with Hydra Barnes actually had.

More running, more drama. Rogers found them again. Barnes managed to damage their arm. More people - Barton, Lang, Wilson, and oh, the telepath. The Soldier tried to hide in the chaos of Barnes’ mind, he didn’t want to be found. Thankfully it looked like Barnes’ presence is painful for Maximoff.

When The Soldier learned that she willingly sided with Hydra, he liked her even less. Unfortunately she was not that easy to kill, and he can’t afford it now. But maybe one day… Barnes didn’t seem to like her either. Anything connected to Hydra or ability to influence minds made him nervous.

Rogers told Barnes everything. Everything what happened to him, everything he knew, everything he thought. The Soldier was surprised with such transparency, but Captain gingerly took Barnes’ hand and said that he needed Barnes to know everything - that’s the only way for soulmates. And Barnes, the idiot, did the same without holding anything back too. The Soldier didn’t enjoy the emotional striptease at all, but that’s how he learned about Maximoff’s powers and her connection to Hydra, among everything else. The experience was not pleasant, but very educational.

Rogers was… compromised. He didn’t care about anything but Barnes. He didn’t care about what’s right, what’s good for his team, what’s going to bite him in the long ran. He was going to sacrifice them all - all these idiots who were following him, to keep Barnes away from harm.

Which was stupid in The Soldier’s opinion. Alienating the whole world is a terrible idea, no one can win against it. Captain, if he was half the strategist everyone claimed he was, should have known that. Stark had the right idea - pretend to comply and them fuck them up from the inside. At least that’s what The Soldier thought his plan was, it was hard to believe that someone like Iron Man will just let someone else decide what’s right for him.

But no, Rogers was not willing to see reason or compromise. He was obviously not thinking straight, completely blinded by the need to keep his soulmate away from anyone who can potentially harm him. Wilson tried to mention that maybe they can risk the trial, since Barnes was brainwashed and the chance that he would be cleared of all charges was pretty high, but Rogers was against it. He said that they were not taking chances. They were playing it safe.

When they learned about that damned mission, The Soldier knew in an instant that Barnes and Rogers were played. The Soldier knew how to read people, and he was sure that man with _the words_ knew all about the mission before. It was a trace for Rogers to find. And if it was not about the serum, it was about Howard and Maria Stark. Iron Man was more dangerous enemy than those defective Winter Soldiers. Iron Man was a genius and he could shake the whole world.

He was right, of course he was right. Defective Soldiers were dead, and Stark learned the truth. Rogers again chose protecting his soulmate over everything else - including his supposedly friend. It was… it didn’t sit well with The Soldier.

Stark put up a good fight. Base human against two super soldiers, and he managed to rip off their arm. But he was blinded by his emotions, and Rogers and Barnes we soulmates fighting for each other. Stark didn’t have a chance, but it didn’t stop him. The Soldier was tempted to join in. Barnes and Rogers had no chance against _him_ and Stark. But it was too dangerous. And he was no Rogers, he thought ahead.

He went to cryo in Wakanda and woke up to a world where Tony Stark created technology that was going to get _the words_ out of him, and managed to get all of them - Rogers, Barnes, Wilson, Barton, Maximoff, Lang - pardoned. The Soldier was right. Tony Stark pretended to agree and then made everyone to do what he wanted.

They all moved to the Tower. It was Avengers Tower again, though The Soldier thought that calling it that sounded like spit to Stark’s face.

Rogers didn’t stop at it though. They were still missing an arm, so Captain decided that Stark should make them the new one. How did he _dared_ , The Soldier had no idea.

Rogers took them down to the workshop, where Stark was waiting for them.

The Soldier watched with Barnes’ eyes that slid off ‘ _you know who I am_ ’ on Tony Stark’s left biceps.

Barnes said something, but The Soldier did not hear. The world just came down on him.

He knew that writing.

It was his.


	2. Chapter 2

The Soldier barely held it together. He wanted to wrestle control from Barnes, he wanted to rip Rogers apart, he wanted to beg Tony to forgive him, he wanted…

He held it together. He would not repeat Roger’s mistakes. He would not be blinded by the need to protect his soulmate and fuck everything up in the process. He would _actually_ protect his soulmate. And he would not fuck anything up.

These five words in his neat writing were a revelation. They explained everything - his admiration for Tony Stark, his unwillingness to fight the man, his indignation on Stark’s behalf. They changed everything - he suddenly had a goal, a reason to fight, reason to care.

He needed to think and plan, but for now he just enjoyed presence of his soulmate. Stark… Tony was swiftly and silently doing scans, while Rogers watched as a hawk. His soulmate was professional and reserved - no sign of the passion The Soldier caught glimpse of in their previous interactions. It were Barnes and Rogers who did it to him. The Soldier wowed that they will pay.

The Soldier knew he had a soulmate. He had ‘who the hell are you?’ written on his now absent metal arm. He wondered will they appear again on the one that Tony was making for him. He hoped they will. They used to be on the same place Stark’s were - his left biceps, covered by the red star.

They might be a problem, though. Reveal his presence before he is ready. Even if Barnes and Rogers wouldn't recognise the writing they will have questions. And Tony definitely will recognise it.

He needed to think, to plan, to prepare. He had a soulmate to protect.

Rogers was totally unreasonable when it came to Barnes. He wouldn’t allow The Soldier’s existence, so he needed to die. Along with Barnes. He wasn’t sure yet about other Avengers, but they all were pretty high on his shit list, higher than Hydra. Hydra hurt him, but Avengers hurt _his soulmate_.

And the more he looked, the more he noticed pain and resentment in the eyes of his soulmate. Apparently, he didn’t know the meaning of the word hate before. The ugly rage that coursed through him every time he saw Tony’s interactions with Avengers was way stronger than anything he felt towards his handlers.

They hurt him, he saw it. Every single one of them, with the exceptions of Rhodes. The Soldier liked Rhodes. Man stuck with Tony through everything, and took being crippled with surprising grace.

Rogers was the worst of them. Information The Soldier had indicated that Howard Stark was obsessed with Captain, and Tony grew up on stories about him. Everyone hinted that their first meeting didn’t go well, but they managed to forge friendship and trust. And then Rogers fucked up everything over his soulmate. It’s not like The Soldier didn’t understand, he just… would never forgive.

Maximoff got into Tony’s head and made his worst fears come true, provoking a disaster his soulmate held himself responsible for. As if The Soldier didn’t have enough reasons to hate the Hydra bitch.

Black Widow started her relationship with Tony with lies, and continued to prove unworthy of his trust. During this… ‘civil war’ she pretended to side with Tony only to fuck him up again. The Soldier would have killed her during training if he new he is creating a weapon against his soulmate.

Barton was Tony’s supposed friend only to turn on him in a heartbeat and was vicious about it too.

Vision… liked Hydra telepath way too much. Rogers told Barnes that Vision used to be JARVIS, Tony’s AI and friend, but The Soldier saw nothing resembling friendship between them now. One more person to take something from his soulmate and abandon him.

They took advantage of him, they betrayed him, they were still using him. They broke his trust, broke his heart. And still they dared to demand his help, his resources, for him to negotiate, pay, sacrifice himself for their pardon.

As if no one of them knew what loyalty was. Well, no, The Soldier had to correct himself. They knew what loyalty was, they were just never loyal to Tony. And that was all he cared about.

He thought about it for a while, but found very few options. Barnes needed to die, because he was the main thing standing between The Soldier and his soulmate. There was an extremely slim chance that they will manage to coexist, but knowing Rogers, Barnes, and Tony The Soldier did not believe it was possible. Rogers would flip out and hurt Tony, Barnes would flip out and hurt Tony, and Tony looked like he wanted nothing to share with Rogers, least of all body of his soulmate. The Soldier wasn’t willing to take chances. He wanted to play it safe.

If he was going to kill Barnes, he would need to kill Rogers, because they are soulmates. If he was going to kill Rogers, he needed to also get rid of Maximoff and Romanoff, because those two were extremely hard to fool and they might be able to figure out what he did. Barton might be collateral damage, but that was not necessary. Vision… The Soldier was not sure how to actually kill him, so he will need to distract him.

It was challenging, but The Soldier was made to do things no one else can.

Unsurprisingly, the help came from Tony. Sure, Stark didn’t know that he is helping, but still. Soulmates.

The technology Tony created was a key to get rid of Barnes. The Soldier didn’t understand much, but basically it was supposed to put him through everything again, only with ability to fight back? He was going to re-live everything, to replace reality when it worked with reality when it didn’t, and that somehow will make his brain to ignore _the words_. It was supposed to temporary give him power to reshape his mind, and The Soldier was pretty sure that he will be able to kill Barnes in the process. They were preparing for it now - Barnes was attending therapy and getting ready for the battle inside his mind. The Soldier was getting ready too. He went through conditioning once, he had an advantage.

Also, Tony made a new arm. Detachable, even. They were supposed to go through operation that will remove previous tech from his body and replace it with Tony’s - lighter, stronger, better - before getting into his mind. It’s going to be just a socket for the arm itself, small part. That was perfect. He will be able kill Barnes before words on his arm will give away his presence.

The operation to replace Hydra tech with Tony’s went smoothly. It was not painful at all, not like its installment was, and it removed the discomfort and heavy weight that was always a part of him. Outdated crap, Tony said. Now he doesn’t even feel anything foreign in his body, and there is _no pain at all_. His soulmate was wonderful.

Rogers said that new arm was waiting for him and will be his reward for getting his mind back. Rogers is excited, Barnes is excited, everyone is excited, including the Soldier. Though for entirely different reasons.

The day X came, and there was no one in the lab except them, Tony, and Captain. Barnes kissed Rogers one last time, steeled himself and got into the machine.

The light blinked, and then it’s darkness, and then they were in the familiar cold lab. Their body was on the operational table and they - he and Barnes - were standing near it and looking at each other.

The pain from the body coursed through them both, but the Soldier shaked it off. He smirked at Barnes’ shock and attacked.


	3. Chapter 3

He stumbled out of the machine into Rogers’ arms. Captain was wide eyed and chanted ‘Bucky’. Sure he felt the death of his soulmate, just didn’t realize what happened.

The Soldier tasted blood in his mouth and when he tried to speak for the first time in so long it came out mumbled and almost unrecognizable. 

‘I am… I am ok’ - he told Rogers. ‘Just… need some time. It was horrible, Stevie, so horrible’

Rogers obviously bought it, attributed what he was feeling to the fact that his soulmate just re-lived the unimaginable pain again. The fool told Tony that they will do scans and everything else tomorrow, but now Bucky needed to rest.

The Soldier obediently followed Rogers to their rooms, and then asked to be alone for some time. Captain looked at him like a kicked puppy, but did what his ‘soulmate’ asked. 

The Soldier enjoyed having a body again greatly. He took shower, and was pleased that ‘Bucky?’ disappeared from his collarbone completely. It meant that Barnes is dead. It meant he had won. It meant that this body is his alone.

The night came, and Rogers went to sleep. The Soldier left their floor silently, going down to Tony’s workshop. He hesitated when doors just slid open before him.

The room was dark. His new arm was waiting for him on one of the tables. Masterpiece created by his soulmate, it looked deadly and beautiful. He attached it and watched with wonder how words ‘who the hell are you?’ slowly etched themselves onto the smooth metal. 

He ran his fleish fingers over the words and left the Tower.

He went to Hydra. 

Because he needed help with killing the telepath.

He tracked down one of his previous handlers, the smartest one, and went to him. He stood before the handler and lied to his face. He almost laughed when the handler used  _ the words _ and they didn’t work. 

Everything worked out perfectly. Rogers ran after him without thinking, but not before having an epic fight with Tony that ensured that Iron Man didn’t join him. Wilson, Maximoff, Romanoff and Barton came.

The telepath died first.

The handler was next. 

They were in some Hydra facility, one of the old slaughterhouses. There was an entire labyrinth, filled with pools of chemicals, training rooms, labs, cages and cells. 

He put dozen bullets through telepath’s brain when Hydra goons used some unfamiliar tech on her. He snapped the handler’s neck when he was distracted. He ripped off Wilson’s wing and strangled him with a chain in one of the labs. Barton was injured by one of Hydra’s soldiers when he tried to help Maximoff. 

Romanoff was next. They stood against each other and she made an attempt to talk him down. The Soldier ignored her and attacked. Black Widow went pale. Because for the first time since DC he fought like she remembered. 

She didn’t last long. 

He threw her body into one of incinerators afterwards. 

‘Bucky? Bucky, what are you doing?’ The Soldier stilled and turned to face Rogers. Captain obviously thought that his presence will change everything, like it did on the helicarrier. The Soldier twisted his lips into a smirk and lifted his arm. He unclasped his collar showing clear skin where Barnes’ soulmark used to be. 

Rogers’ eyes filled with horror. 

The fight was short but brutal. 

Afterwards he thrown Rogers’ body into pool of chemicals and watched while it dissolved. Maybe there was another option… But he didn’t take chances. He played it safe.

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my tumblr, if anyone wants to chat or share ideas :)
> 
> http://keepfacepalm.tumblr.com/


End file.
